Wow, what a crazy semester we have had! But it's not over yet. Between Austin's projects, papers and sketches, my rather large group of fourth graders, our callings and various other events we've been a part of, I'm surprised we're alive and kicking! Fortunately, we both work well under pressure.
Austin is in his second year of Architecture at ASU. While last year was mostly hand sketches and models, this year he has transitioned mostly to computer rendering. He hasn't decided which is easier yet... But he is very much a pen and paper guy. He was very encouraged when he met a guy in our stake who just got a job doing only hand renderings at a Phoenix firm. That is basically Austin's dream job!! We weren't sure if that really existed! But this man said that clients still want simple, instant sketches and he's pretty comfortable with job security. We hope so!
I have a BIG class this year. My 32 10-year-olds keep me moving. My weekends are spent grading, grading, cleaning and more grading. I have enough to keep me busy during the week, so I pile up all my assignments throughout the week and take them home. Fortunately, I have an awesome sister (and often brother and brother-in-law!) who enjoy "grading parties". On Sunday nights, we all sit and grade and watch past seasons of Downton Abbey. :) What could be better, right? haha
We moved into the Chandler West stake this summer and are enjoying our new ward (Well, we enjoyed both of them. Several wards split shortly after we moved in). I was called to be the first counselor in young womens and Austin is the bear den leader. We are both happy to be working in these new callings, but we have had to quickly learn how to manage time appropriately. There are very, VERY few lazy moments around the Baxter house. We just don't have time for it! And as such, when I do have a down minute, I haven't been searching for pictures and blogging about it... Well, this is about as close to a journal as I come, so my goal is to update far more regularly. We shall see how that resolution goes.
Here are a few pictures about our past 6 months...
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| This is the maxi skirt Janie and I made during fall break. Looks simple, but sewing something correctly is a big deal in the Macdonald family!! We were quite proud. |
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| We lived at my parents for a few weeks this summer in between leases, and Quinton and Indy became very good friends. They get up to all sorts of shenanegans. |
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| Apparently I only take sideways pictures of Jan. This is my classroom, all shiny and clean before school started |
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| My room is full of owls and Harry Potter :) my favorites! (Dang, this is definitely before school started. You can actually see the empty top of my desk...) |
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| Bulletin Boards and more owls |
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| Over the summer, one of Ciara's mission companions, Laura, came from France to stay with the Baxters for a month. It was a blast getting to know her! Here she is with almost all our family. Mom Baxter isn't in this picture due to that scary hospital stay. We are happy to report that she is doing so much better months later |
